Brice not ready to concede mayor's-court ban

Friday

Apr 12, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 12, 2013 at 8:53 AM

Ever since a new state law - coupled with the eastern Franklin County village's tiny population - stripped Brice of its mayor's court, residents have questioned what might happen next. Brice officials don't have answers yet, in part because they're not ready to concede.

Lori Kurtzman, The Columbus Dispatch

A new local business owner showed up at last night's Brice Village Council meeting with a list of talking points scrawled on a piece of paper. Jim Contugno had questions about dog tags and sign permits and something much bigger.

Ever since a new state law - coupled with the eastern Franklin County village's tiny population - stripped Brice of its mayor's court, residents have questioned what might happen next.

Brice officials don't have answers yet, in part because they're not ready to concede.

Brice is among six villages throughout Ohio contesting the law that went into effect last month abolishing mayor's courts from towns with fewer than 201 residents. In the 2010 U.S. census, Brice had 114 people living along its narrow streets and with its unapologetically low speed limits.

Critics of mayor's courts say they turn small towns into ticket-happy speed traps and open the door for unethical behavior from mayors who want to cut their buddies breaks. But Brice officials say the money from mayor's court helps keep the village safe by covering the paychecks of its part-time police officers.

State lawmakers who passed the new measure "have no idea how it affects local government," said Brice Councilman Ben Geiser.

The six villages argued last month in Franklin County Common Pleas Court that the law is unconstitutional and financially devastating. They said they'd be all but broke without revenue from traffic tickets. Brice Mayor Christy Smith testified that 77 percent of her village's $135,000 budget last year came from mayor's court revenue.

But so far, the villages are losing the battle. Last month, Common Pleas Judge Kim Brown reversed her own order that would have prevented the law from taking effect. The mayor's courts were gone. The villages appealed.

Brice hasn't made any cuts as it awaits the results of the appeal, though the police department and its five paid officers might be on the chopping block. And council members already have begun preparing for the worst: Last night, they approved significant hikes in traffic fines, about $50 higher than they'd been.

Smith said the steeper fines would better offset Franklin County Municipal Court's costs to hear those cases. In theory, Brice would still make some money off its tickets.